8 Lies You’ve Been Told About Following Your Passion

Are you doing what you truly want to do? Are you following your passion to the best of your ability?

If you’re reading this post, the answer is most likely no.

Time and time again, I see people who can follow their passion, but they don’t, because they hold themselves back. I know how hard it can be, because I’ve been in the same situation. There are many lies we’ve been told about following our passion.

And the worst thing of all is we repeat these lies to ourselves and it keeps us from living the life we truly want and deserve.

Here are eight of the most common lies I’ve come across:

It’s Going to Be Obvious
Just because you know what you’re passionate about does not mean that you’ll instantly know what to do.

In fact, often the opposite is true.

You’ll become afraid, because now you have to take action. Now you have to face your fears and move forward. Following your passion is not obvious, but that’s okay. That’s life. Embrace it, and move forward anyway.

It Has to Make Sense
Have you ever looked back at your life and wondered how on earth you managed to overcome some of the problems you’ve encountered? You’re not alone. Sometimes it seems like I’m not the one living life, but life is living me.

Most of the things in life don’t make sense until after you’ve lived through them. If you try to resist, you’ll suffer, but go with the flow, and you’ll enjoy the ride.

The more I follow my heart, the happier I seem to be.

You Can’t Just Follow Your Heart
If you’re like me, you’ve been told that you can’t just do what you want. Things have to make sense. You have to follow logic, because otherwise you’ll end up homeless pushing a shopping cart.

But this line of thinking has brought you nothing but misery, and you know it. It’s time to follow your heart. Follow your excitement. And listen to that voice inside you that beckons you to do what truly matters.

Your heart will lead the way, if you let it.

You Won’t Need Help
For a long time, I tried to follow my passion alone. Luckily, I eventually realized that I needed help. I needed a coach and a mentor to help me move forward and avoid mistakes. And it was the best decision I made.

I see so many people resist help, because somehow they think it’s a sign of weakness, but to me, it’s a sign of strength. It’s a sign that you are truly ready to follow your passion, because you’re ready to do whatever it takes.

You Have to Quit Your Job
When you’re ready to do whatever it takes, you’ll realize that you don’t have to quit your job to follow your passion. You don’t have to make radical changes in your life. You only have to take things one step at a time.

Thinking you have to do or be something before you can do what you love is just another excuse for not taking action right away.

Let it go, and you’ll be much happier.

You Have to Be Rich
This is another big one. Again, you don’t have to be anything or have anything other than what you have or are right now. Yes, sometimes you need money to follow your passion. But you don’t need money to do what you can do. Don’t let yourself be held back by what you think your passion should be. Instead focus on taking small steps. Do what you can do right now. So what if you can’t follow your dream exactly as it is in your imagination? Do what you can do. Start somewhere. Start today.

You have to focus on starting, instead of coming up with reasons why you can’t do this, because you never know where you’ll end up when you begin your journey.

Small Steps Don’t Matter
Small steps are the only thing that matter. Forget trying to come up with one idea that will catapult you to success overnight. Instead focus on the mundane. Ask yourself what small step you can take today to follow your passion. Sometimes it means reading a book, taking a walk, or even deciding to write an article. It all depends on what your passion is.

Think baby steps.

It’s Too Risky
Is it really? What about wasting your life doing something you don’t want to do? Isn’t it more risky to not follow your passion?

This is your life. You have to decide how you want to live it. I can’t tell you what to do. No one can. But what I can tell you is that the day I decided to truly follow my passion was the day my life transformed. The journey hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it.

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